If not managed properly, a credit card can have a massive negative impact on your credit rating. For this reason, you shouldn’t just apply for credit cards on a whim; You need to weigh up all the pros and cons and all the benefits before making any decisions. Shopping around to get the best deals on your credit card is always a sensible option, so here is a list of things that should look out for when you do.

1. Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

This is the cost for using the card if you don’t pay off the balance in full every month. Have a look around for credit cards with the lowest APR, so that you have to pay less interest back if you can’t pay the balance off in full for a month or two.

2. Credit Limit

This is the amount of money that the credit card issuer has agreed to let you borrow. This amount will vary depending on your credit score, current financial situation, and other facts. Because of this, you could be offered anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands. Regardless of your credit limit, you will want to avoid spending anywhere near your credit limit, as this will negatively impact your credit score.

3. Annual Fee

Some cards add a fee on top of your balance each year for the use of your card. Like with the balance, you will have to pay interest on this fee unless you can pay the full balance at the end of the month.

4. Charges

Ensure you know of any possible charges for using the card, going over your credit limit, spending money abroad, or making late repayments to avoid any nasty surprises. You can check this on your credit agreement.

5. Minimum Repayment

Even if you can’t afford to pay the full balance each month, you will still be required to make a minimum repayment. This doesn’t tend to be more than around £5 or 3% of your balance, but you should try to pay much more than this otherwise it will take longer and cost much more to pay off your debt.

6. Cash Back

Some credit cards will refund you a percentage of your spendings back onto your card. Even if a credit card advertises cash back, you will want to check the small print, as they may only offer this for customers who spend less or more than a certain amount, or ones who have paid off their balance in full at the end of the month. Websites like best.creditcard compare the cash back offers from a range of different credit cards, as well as other benefits.

7. Points & Rewards

Some credit cards offer points every time you spend money which can later be converted into different types of rewards. These rewards can include vouchers, loyalty points for supermarkets, or even football merchandise.

Be sure not to apply for many credit cards in a short amount of time, as this will harm your credit score. Instead, compare the benefits and see which one fits you best, and ensure you make your repayments if you are accepted.

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Despite all the negatives associated with credit, there are some positives too. When you manage credit responsibly, you can build up a good credit rating that will put you in a good position for car loans, a mortgage or even a business loan. If you think that having credit could benefit your finances, here are some ways you can use credit responsibly and avoid getting yourself into unnecessary debt.

Choose credit with low-interest rates

The type of interest rate you’re offered for a credit card could make a difference to your finances. If your interest rate is too high, you might struggle to make the minimum payments. High-interest also raises the question of why you’d have a card at all – you could end up paying much more for goods than you anticipated. Before making an application for a loan or credit card, do a bit of research first – reviews.creditcard is a great website for checking out different credit cards before you make an application. Make sure your credit rating is in a good place too to make sure that you have a higher chance of being offered a good deal.

Keep your limits manageable

Getting a credit card can actually be a good way to manage your finances and show to potential lenders that you’re responsible with money. Having a limit that you know you could pay off easily is important and can stop you from falling into the downhill spiral that could lead you to thousands of dollars of debt. If you’re offered high limits, refuse them. Lenders will often increase your credit limit if they see that you’re responsible with what they offer, but unless you need a limit that high – it’s not worth the risk.

Use it for added security

There are some good reasons to use a credit card, and one of them is the added security they can bring when making purchases. If your goods were to be lost or stolen, they would be covered by the insurance provided with the card. If you have a dispute over a charge like if you were a victim of identity fraud, most credit card companies will return the charge while they investigate what’s happening. This means you won’t be left out of pocket like you would with a debit card and you’ll be more likely to get a quick solution to your issues.

Pay your balance off each month

If you can pay off your credit balances each month, you will demonstrate to lenders that you can be trusted. Doing this will improve your credit rating, making it easier to get accepted for a mortgage in the future. Use your credit card to cover items you would normally buy anyway, like your groceries or your travel to work. Set up a pre-authorization so that the balance is always paid off and you’ll soon develop an excellent credit score.

Having credit can be a good thing if you use it wisely. If you need help to stay on top of your finances, then opening a credit account may not be the best solution for you. Consider how you’ll manage your finances before you apply and always use credit responsibly to avoid getting yourself into financial difficulty.

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If you’re struggling with debt, you could soon find yourself caught in a web that is difficult to get out of. Debt isn’t something that will just go away, so you’ll need to put a plan in place to get yourself out of it. The sooner you face up to it, the sooner you can be back in the black and ensure better financial security for you and your family. Want to know what your options are? Read some of the ways you can take charge of your debt below.

Pay it off

Paying off your debt is something that you’ll have to do, regardless of what option you choose. If you’re able to put a plan in place to budget and make savings, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to pay off your debt.

Rank your debts in order from the highest to lowest interest rate

Starting with the debt that incurs the highest interest will help you to pay your debts off quicker, as you’ll be paying off less interest overall. Work out how much you can set aside each month to pay off your debts, allocating more to the account at the top of your list first.

Set yourself a budget

Sticking to a budget is one of the easiest ways you’ll be able to clear your debt. By giving yourself a set amount for your monthly expenses, you can set aside a decent sum to put towards your debts. If you under spend on your budget, use the extra to pay off even more and help reduce your debts quicker.

Close paid-off accounts

Once you’ve paid off your accounts, close them. Having too many open credit accounts with high available balances will reflect poorly on your credit score, and could scupper your chances of being approved for a loan or mortgage. Keep one or two open and keep their balances low – you’ll need to use some credit to rebuild your credit score.

Consolidate

If you want to tackle your debt by avoiding high-interest rates and making your debts easier to manage, you might want to take out a consolidation loan instead. You should only do this if you can manage the monthly payments, and are willing to close the accounts immediately after paying them off.

Do your research first

Before deciding whether or not to take out a consolidation loan, you should do your research as to whether it will actually save you money in the long term. Compare the interest rate versus what you pay now and see if it could be a better deal for you. If you often miss payments because of carelessness or you find it difficult to keep track of multiple payments, this could be a good option to help you stay on track and focus on one monthly payment instead.

Choose the right provider

If your credit rating is poor because of your current financial habits, providers like ReallyBadCreditOffers.com could help you to get a good rate on a consolidation loan. With a good rate behind you and end date in sight, you could be much happier and less-stress about money. Read all of the terms carefully and see if there’s a way you can up your repayments without a penalty should your financial situation improve.

Avoid taking out more credit

A consolidation loan is a great way to make your debts easier to manage, but you should resist the temptation of taking on more debt. Stop spending on credit cards (cut them up if you have to) and don’t make any further financial agreements until you’ve paid off what you owe.

Set up a debt management plan

Alternatively, if you’re really struggling to handle your debt – a debt management plan could be the right option for you. Reading up on how a debt management plan works can help you decide if this is the right option for you.

Can you stick to it?

A debt management plan is great if you can stick to it. If you fail to make payments – you could lose the decreased interest rates or goodwill that has been given to you by your creditors.

Will you need to take out credit in the future?

A debt management plan is only recommended if you don’t intend on taking out more credit soon. If you’re planning to open a new credit card, take out a mortgage or a car loan, you may need to think twice before starting a debt management plan. The rationale behind a plan is to help you take care of your debt, not free you up to add more.

Consider all of the options above to work out which is the most suitable for you. Stop struggling with debt today and work towards a more stable financial future.

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“Isn’t it a little bit early to think about Christmas? It’s not even been Halloween yet…”

Okay, so we’ll acknowledge the fact that that’s a legitimate complaint. Christmas seems to come earlier every year and this article isn’t helping that. However, there’s no denying the fact that for people who focus on the health of their personal finances, Christmas can be a testing time. That’s why it deserves focus this early on, even if it does feel strange to be contemplating buying gifts and decorating your home when the leaves have only just begun to change.

If you begin now, you have an early start on your Christmas preparations, meaning that you can survive the festive season with your financial state intact. There are four key questions you need to be able to answer, and then you can forget about Christmas until December.

Who Do You Have To Buy For?

Try and keep the list small, if you’re going to be financially responsible. Family members usually go to the top of the list. If you have a big family, then time.com have some great tips on how to keep it affordable.

Friends are more difficult, so it’s often best to just ask if they want to swap gifts, or would everyone prefer a get-together around Christmas in lieu of actual gifts. You’re unlikely to be the only one of your friendship group worrying about money, so it’s always worth venturing the idea.

How Much Are You Going To Spend On Each Person?

This decision is largely personal, depending on your financial circumstances. However, there are a few universal things you need to keep in mind:

Set yourself a budget per person and don’t exceed it; there will be something you can find within budget, if you’re willing to look hard enough to find it. Christmas gift guides will explode online in the next few months, so scan through them and see what might work. There’s no point setting a budget if you’re going to break it — plan to be very stringent with yourself, keep the numbers amenable to your financial circumstances, and be willing to hunt for good deals.

What Can Make Christmas More Affordable?

Obviously, saving for Christmas is the best way to make it affordable. However, if you haven’t saved anything yet, then it’s unlikely you’re going to be able to put away as much money as you need in time for December.

If that means you’re going to have to borrow to fund some of your Christmas frivolity, you need to make it as affordable as possible. Look through creditrepair.co to see how you can reduce the cost of borrowing, and move any existing debts onto low-interest repayment plans. Combine this with a little extra saving for the next few months, and your personal finances should come through the holiday period unscathed.

With the above answered, you — and your bank account — can look forward to Christmas, rather than dreading the financial toll it may take!

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When you’re in your 20s, you feel like your whole life is ahead of you, you may have just got out of college, so you feel like you owe it to yourself to relax for a while and take everything in your stride. However, the issue for a lot of people in their 20s is that they don’t put money aside. A GO Banking Rates survey found that 44% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 have no money in their savings accounts or don’t even have a savings account! And while it’s important to make the most of life when you’re young and exuberant, but there are some things to begin thinking about now.

Start An Emergency Fund

The fact of the matter is that there will be financial issues that crop up from time to time that you are ill-equipped to deal with. You may end up having an accident and are faced with a medical bill you are unable to pay straight away. And there could be many potential issues that arise that could affect your ability to work, and while making an injury claim is all well and good, it’s not something you can bank on to get you a huge pile of cash. So make sure you start to find ways to stockpile money from your existing earnings. The best way to do it is to set up a transfer, so the funds out of your bank accounts on the same day every month to go into a savings account. That way you don’t need to think about it. And it doesn’t necessarily need to be a huge amount of money either, whatever little amount you can put away will be of some benefit.

Prepare For Retirement Now

If you started saving for your retirement in your 20s, as opposed to later in life, you would end up saving more in the long term, but you can also put away less money during your 30s, 40s, and 50s because you tend to have less financial obligations. Let’s do the math, someone who is 25 and saves at $700 every year will have saved $28,000 by the time they are 65. Compare this to someone who is 35 and just started saving, they will have only saved $21,000 and will need to save that bit more to catch up.

Go For The High-Interest Bank Accounts

Common sense prevails in this, the more interest in a bank account, the more money you will be able to save. And not just this, but there are savings accounts you can take advantage of, such as Certificates of Deposit (CD) accounts, money market accounts, as well as traditional savings accounts.

Get Investing

The final point to make when saving money in your 20s is that it can be very difficult, especially if you work a low paid job and are barely making ends meet. You may want to think about a type of investment that can pay out on a regular basis. While savings bonds, peer to peer investments, as well as real estate are common methods, you may want to start thinking about other approaches to investments, such as gold bullion, or even Bitcoin. Having a decent amount of knowledge in terms of investments will give you that extra bit of money you will need to set yourself up for a life without financial struggle.

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